Keenan Allen’s size and smoothness bring a former NFL receiver to mind.

I’ll not type the receiver’s name. It’s too potent of a name. Suffice that he went from Mississippi Valley State to the 49ers. Comparing any college receiver to him is unfair, so I’ll move on now.

Allen ended his career as Cal’s all-time leader in receptions (205). At 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds, he has the size that appeals to the Chargers and many other NFL teams.

He’s not as fast as Tennessee’s Cordarrelle Patterson, or as big and explosive as Justin Hunter, another draft-eligible Vol.

Allen has yet to work out for NFL teams, owing to a knee injury that ended his Cal season with three games to go.

He is to work out April 9. If his 40 time is ordinary, his draft stock may drift south.

Allen originally committed to Alabama, which wanted him to play safety. Going to Cal allowed him to play wide receiver alongside his older brother, Zach Maynard, the team’s quarterback.

A left-hander whose passing lacked consistent touch and accuracy, Maynard relied on his younger brother to make Cal’s offense go. Opposing safeties could anticipate, correctly, that Maynard would look for Allen.

Allen still won out, at a high rate, whether running down-the-seam routes, crossing patterns or catching outs and hitches. Thirty-four of his catches netted at least 20 yards.

It’s exciting to think what Allen could do, when matched with an NFL quarterback.